IDENTITY

Keyword Blog on the theme of IDENTITY. For assessment for CACS102 University of Wollongong 2019

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Authenticity

Authenticity relates to the question of whether or not a person or object is what they claim to be (Halh, Zuckerman, & Kim, 2017, p.831). Authenticity may be demonstrated by consistent action that is in line with professed claims about one’s character or beliefs. Authenticity in art is often judged based on the motivation of the artist, whether it was for the love of art, or for the acclaim and financial benefit it brings. Authenticity has now become a commodity for artists, who now work on their brand by censoring themselves on social media (Labrecque, Markos, & Milne, 2011; Halh, Zuckerman, & Kim, 2017). 

There are many books on the subject of authenticity, but Mia Michael’s no-nonsense approach is refreshing and fun.

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Creative Identity

Sam Brinson (2014) asserts that an artist’s creative identity evolves through the synthesis of the works of others that spark inspiration in the artist until “Without thinking about it, you will have taken what you love out of your most inspiring artists so that you’re left with the style that represents you.”

As a multidisciplinary artist with never ending ideas and inspirations it can be hard to find a cohesive creative identity. When one has spent more time working for an artist-run initiative gallery and organising creative events than creating their own work that becomes a major part of the creative identity.

Selected works by the author (top to bottom): Bulli Beach Peace (2018) How Can I Be Happy? (2018) Love Has No Grey Area (2018) Brain Storm (2017)

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Subjectivity

Subjectivity, as described by Barker (2012 p.220), is “the condition of being a person and the processes by which we become a person; that is, how we are constituted as cultural subjects and how we experience ourselves”. Described less formally, it’s how what we are subjected to different influences specific to our culture and environment, and how that shapes the way we see ourselves.

Whilst many could look at being subjected to things as a negative experience it’s often what we have overcome and survived that truly shape us. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ by Florence and the Machine (2010) shows how we can acknowledge what has shaped us and let go of what no longer serves us.

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Overdetermination

Freud’s early explorations of the causes of behaviour revealed that actions could be caused by the unconscious processes of the mind. The complex web of memories, associations, and beliefs buried deep in the unconscious mind drive behaviour, sometimes without the individual being aware of why they are doing what they are doing. Initially, Freud called this ‘overdetermination’ but was later referred to as the ‘principle of complication of causes’, which is somewhat more self-explanatory (Kran 2010, p.9-11).

As artists are blind to all causes of their odd, disturbing, or strange behaviour, they are unable to apply rational thought processes to their unconscious misalignments. 

When one discovers Edward Gorey’s ‘The Gashlycrumb Tinies’ in a Japanese book shop and falls in love with it, what does it say about them?

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Sensory Knowledge

The reality we build for ourselves is based on the sensory knowledge collected through receptors in the body, (e.g. eyes/ears/nose/skin), that is filtered and interpreted by the brain which results in perception. (Kalat, J. W,  2016, p.6).

“art is incomplete without the perceptual ... involvement of the viewer” (Kandel, E, 2016 p. 18).

In an ever-increasingly digital world, it will be interesting to see if touch screen interactions will expand to include other senses, or if the automation of physical labour will focus on knowledge-work, away from bodily experiences (Cox 2018, p. 223-225).

‘Woods of Net’, crocheted hand-dyed nylon, by Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam (2009). Hakone Open Air Museum. Sadly only kids are allowed to play on the work, which was rather disappointing for this visiting artist who has managed to preserve their inner child. Photography: ‘Wonder Space II’, by Masaki Koizum.

Tactile senses are wonderful to explore in textiles. The large-scale crocheted playscapes of Toshiko Horiuchi MacAdam engage the senses of sight and balance, with the skin sensing pressure, edges, and texture. 

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Creative Influence

Creative influence describes how artists are inspired by another’s work, ideas, or concepts, either consciously or unconsciously, to create new works that are influenced in terms of style, techniques, themes, or materials used.

“with every idea, research, lesson plan, and work of art, there is always influence. Influence is inescapable” Taylor, P (2007).

When Fujiko Rose was showcased on Landscape Artist Of The Year judges commented on how the angular lines of her work referenced the vorticist movement artist Percy Whyndam Lewis. To their surprise, he was her great great grandfather (Sky Arts, 2018). It demonstrated that those with a thorough knowledge of art history can see an artist’s creative influences without knowing the artist’s background. 

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Fractured Identity

A fractured identity occurs when “The subject assumes different identities at different times, identities which are not unified around a coherent ‘self ’ (Hall, 1992b, p 277 as quoted in Barker 2012, p. 225). Freud describes the self as being divided into the conscious rational mind (ego), the social conscience (superego), and the larger less rational, more impulsive, and symbolic mind that we are not consciously aware of (unconscious) (Barker 2012, p226). 

Drag artists create separate identities by choosing names, clothing, makeup, voices, vocabulary, posture, attitudes, and opinions that are different from their non-drag self in an attempt to consciously edit the perceived identity to their audience. Doing this gives them an opportunity to explore, satirise, and experiment with different gender identities and question what it means to be masculine or feminine (Mascetti 2018).  For the artist, a personal sense of fractured identity is a real possibility, especially if the acknowledgement of drag identity dependent on the individual’s social environment. Drag can also bring the artist more confidence then they have as their ‘real life’ self. 

The many faces of Dr Dee Veeus (2018). Courtesy of the artist.

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Essentialism

Essentialism argues that a person’s identity is of a fixed nature, that does not change over time, and something to be discovered. This alludes to the existence of a soul or unchangeable essence that is the core of identity. An alternative view, (anti-essentialism), is that identity changes in response to the environment, and as such is dependent on language and culture (Barker, C 2007, p. 221). 

Jeremyville’s community service announcements are uplifting but simple reminders of humanity, often with some good humour (Jeremyville Corner Store 2019). "Find Yourself” demonstrates essentialism rather well as the being is looking for the self, implying that the self is a stable object to be uncovered. 

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“Mutter Tochter (Mother Daughter)” (2001) photo restitchings by Annegret Soltau

Social Identity

Social identity, as described by Barker (2012, p.220) encapsulates “the conceptions we hold about ourselves and our emotional identification with those self-descriptions”. People describe themselves with the language of their culture, identifying similarities and differences to others in terms of age, gender, family roles, membership to groups, social positions, and workplace situations. This identification and emotional relationship to their identification informs how people act, think, and process events in terms of rights, obligations. (Barker, C 2012, p. 222-223).

Annegret Soltau uses autobiographical photos to explore how her social identity changed when she had children in her ‘Mutter-Glück’ (Motherhood) series of photo restitchings and more recent ‘Mutter Tochter’ (Mother Daughter)  performance work that shows photos of the artist at different ages, or the artist and her daughter, that are torn and stitched on top of one another (Schwarz, G 2016; Soltau, A 1977-1986; Soltau, A 2001).

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Unconscious

Sigmund Freud described the parts of the mind that function outside of the conscious, the primal instincts and urges, dreams, and lightbulb-moment inspirations, as the unconscious.

“Freud saw in dreams the existence ... of a part of the mind in the shadow of conscious awareness... So unfamiliar was this domain that it could not enter into consciousness on its own terms, but chose as its costume images and symbols” (Mansfield 2000, p. 28).  

Austin Osman Spare utilised automatic drawing to express the unconscious by allowing symbolic representations to be channelled from the unconscious onto the page. Spare is recognised as predating more popular surrealists, such as Andre Breton, who also drew on the unconscious and Freud’s theories of dreams and automatic drawing in representing the unconscious for creative inspiration (Masheck 2000, p. 179; Opstrup 2017, p.50-51).